Our view: Cheers and jeers

Saturday

Jul 12, 2014 at 10:26 AMJul 12, 2014 at 10:26 AM

A CHEER … to the 17th annual Yarger Memorial Golf Scramble, held June 21 at the Victor Hills Golf Course, which drew 104 golfers and raised $11,000 for the Fralick Cardiac Rehabilitation and Fitness Center at Thompson Hospital.The total amount raised by this tournament since its inception stands at $164,000. The tournament is held annually in memory of the members of the Yarger and Kay families who have died due to cardiac illness.A CHEER ... to our local healthcare officials who are embracing the new medical marijuana law. While the law remains controversial, people in our area can be confident that providers in our region — based on their responses in our recent coverage — are following closely the rollout and will make sure those who qualify for the substance obtain it legally.A JEER ... to the ongoing gridlock in Congress over immigration reform. While the issue is complex, the agricultural community in our region and beyond has long called for reform to ensure immigrants receive legal status to stay in the United States and continue to do the labor no one else is willing or able to do. The Congressional representatives for Ontario County (where agriculture is an economic staple), Republicans Chris Collins and Tom Reed, need to take a stand for their constituents.A CHEER … to the 2014 Pink Fly Ladies Invitational Golf Tournament on June 7 at Victor Hills Golf Club, which raised $10,500 for Thompson Health’s Breast Health Navigation Program.Since its inception 11 years ago, the event has raised more than $60,000 for the center’s breast cancer awareness and education programs. This year, the funds are designated for the Breast Health Navigation Program, which provides free breast health screenings as well as support and assistance with coordinating a wide variety of services for those diagnosed with breast cancer.A CHEER ... to the volunteers and supporters of Camp Good Days and Special Times, who helped them get up and running after suffering flood damage. Proceeds from local events are also being donated to help the camp as it continues its repairs, including the Chasin the Blues show on June 14 and the upcoming Got Music? event slated for Saturday, July 26.A CHEER ... Greece native Brian Gionta, the hockey player signed a free-agent deal to join the Buffalo Sabres earlier this month. He previously served as a captain of the Montreal Canadiens. Gionta gets to play what probably are his final years of professional hockey in the western New York region, where he got it his start, as well as help a Sabres team rebuild by providing veteran leadership.A JEER … to folks who don’t take precautions when walking streets and highways.A reader stopped by the Daily Messenger to tell us about a group wearing dark clothes, with baby in stroller, crossing the road in the darkness near, but not at, the intersection of Route 364 and Lakeshore in the city on July 4. It was near the same spot where a woman was struck by a vehicle and died last year. Darkness played a role in that death, and the reader was a witness to that incident.The motorist reminded the folks that they should not be crossing roads at non-crosswalk areas in dark clothing, which he said they responded in some pretty profane terms to mind his own business.